MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. Russia and the United States are maintaining constructive cooperation within the Arctic Council, Nikolay Korchunov, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-At-Large and Russia’s Senior Official in the Arctic Council, said on Tuesday, addressing a roundtable dedicated to Russia’s upcoming chairmanship of the council.

"I would like to shine the spotlight on the constructive dialogue with our American colleagues within the Arctic Council. First of all, I would like to highlight the working relationship with US Senior Arctic Official Meredith Rubin," he noted. "There is a good understanding of the issues that the Arctic region is facing and our countries are interested in ensuring collective approaches to responsibly managing the region’s development, so there is no friction between us here," Korchunov stressed.

According to the Russian envoy, the parties can have different views on certain issues but these differences are tactical. The diplomat pointed out that after the new administration came to power in the US, changes in Washington’s policy have become evident. "The United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement under Trump, which complicated efforts to adopt a negotiated ministerial declaration in 2019. Today, we can see Washington expressing a stepped-up commitment to multilateral approaches, including in the Arctic region, and we welcome that," Korchunov noted.

An Arctic Council ministerial meeting will take place in Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik on May 20. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken are expected to participate in the event. Russia will take over the council’s chairmanship from Iceland at the meeting.